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The Americas
The Americas refers collectively to North and South America, as a relatively recent and less ambiguous alternative to the name America, which may refer to either the Americas (typically in languages other than English, where it is often considered a single continent) or to the United States (in English and colloquially in other languages). Geographical Location and Status The Americas consist of the land mass located to the east of the Pacific Ocean and the west of the Atlantic Ocean, and are generally divided into North America, South America, and Central America. The term also usually includes the Caribbean, the islands in and around the Caribbean Sea, and Greenland, though not Iceland, for cultural and historical reasons. The isthmus of Central America is usually considered geographically part of North America. The Americas are often also described collectively as the Western Hemisphere or, during the colonial era, as the New World. The classification of the Americas as a single continent vs multiple continents is debated. Traditionally in English-speaking countries, North and South America are considered two continents, reflected by the use of the plural name the Americas. In many other countries, they are considered a single continent, so (an equivalent of) the singular America is used in several languages, though it should be noted that even those who consider the Americas to be two continents may still use the singular to refer to the two collectively. The singular America is also found in English in reference to the pre-Columbian or early Columbian era, such as in the common phrase "Christopher Columbus discovered America". The single-entity concept also appears thematically. For example, the five rings of the Olympic flag represent the five parts of the world, with a single ring representing all of the Americas. Peoples of the Americas thumb|250px|CIA map of the Americas People who live in the Americas are sometimes referred to as being American, although the word American is used much more commonly in English, and some other languages, to refer to a citizen of the United States of America. The Spanish language uses norteamericano ("North American") or estadounidense (literally "United Statesian") when referring to U.S. citizens. In French, états-unien (états-unienne for women) has been coined, but américain(ne) is more commonly used informally. In German, the term Amerikaner is commonly used to refer the citizens of the United States, while it is rare to use the more specific US-Amerikaner. In Italy the term Americano is used to refer to things or people pertaining to the USA but the word Statunitense is also popular. In Portugal and Brazil, U.S. residents are mostly called americanos (common usage) or norte-americano (formal usage), while estadunidense is commonly used, to reinforce the idea that the term American should not be reserved exclusively for the United States. On the other hand, Mexico is properly the "United Mexican States" (Estados Unidos Mexicanos), although its residents do not refer to themselves as "estadounidenses". See American for further discussion. See also: American Naming of America thumb|left|250px|Map of the American mainland The earliest known use of the name America for the continents of the Americas dates from 1507. It appears on a globe and a large map created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. An accompanying book, Cosmographiae Introductio, explains that the name was derived from the Latinized version of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form, America, as the other continents all have Latin feminine names. The Italian name Amerigo is a form of the Germanic name Haimirich, meaning "ruler of the home", from the German words haim "home" and rich "powerful". Christopher Columbus, who had first brought the continents' existence to the attention of Renaissance era voyagers, had died in 1506 and could not protest Waldseemüller's decision. A few alternative theories regarding the continents' naming have been proposed, but none of them have any widespread acceptance. One alternative first proposed by a Bristol antiquary and naturalist, Alfred Hudd, was that America is derived from Richard Amerike, a merchant from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497. Supposedly, Bristol fishermen had been visiting the coast of North America for at least a century before Columbus' voyage and Waldseemüller's maps are alleged to incorporate information from the early British journeys to North America. The theory holds that a variant of Amerike's name appeared on an early British map (of which however no copies survive) and that this was the true inspiration for Waldseemüller. Another theory, first advanced by Jules Marcou in 1875 and later recounted by novelist Jan Carew, is that the name America derives from the district of Amerrique in Nicaragua. The gold-rich district of Amerrique was purportedly visited by both Vespucci and Columbus, for whom the name became synonymous with gold. According to Marcou, Vespucci later applied the name to the New World, and even changed the spelling of his own name from Alberigo to Amerrigo to reflect the importance of the discovery. Yet another theory states that Vespucci named America after Amorica, the continent of ancient Greek and Roman myth. It is assumed that the Italian Vespucci would have been familiar with Roman myth. Early explorers often believed they were rediscovering islands and continents of myth or religion, such as the idea that South America was the Garden of Eden or 'Earthly Paradise'. After Vespucci's death, people forgot where the name America came from, so they changed his name to Amerigo to explain the naming of America. Vespucci's role in the naming issue, like his exploratory activity, is unclear. Some sources say that he was unaware of the widespread use of his name to refer to the new landmass. Others hold that he promulgated a story that he had made a secret voyage westward and sighted land in 1491, a year before Columbus. If he did indeed make such claims, they backfired, and only served to prolong the ongoing debate on whether the "Indies" were really a new land, or just an extension of Asia. See also * Latin America * Alternative words for American External links * The Naming of America Category:Americas ca:Amèrica cs:Amerika da:Amerika de:Amerika (Kontinent) et:Ameerika el:Αμερική es:América eo:Ameriko eu:Amerika fr:Amérique gl:América id:Benua Amerika io:Amerika is:Ameríka it:Americhe he:אמריקה kw:Amerika la:America lt:Amerika mk:Америка minnan:Bí-chiu nl:Amerika no:Amerika nds:Amerika ja:アメリカ州 pl:Ameryka pt:América ro:America ru:Америка simple:The Americas fi:Amerikka sv:Amerika zh:美洲